Newman's Own

Newman's Own is a food company founded by actor Paul Newman and author A.E. Hotchner in 1982. The company gives 100% of the after-tax profits from the sale of its products to Newman's Own Foundation (a private non-profit foundation) which in turn, gives the money to various educational and charitable organizations. In 1982 Newman summarized his initial intentions regarding distribution of his company's profits:

History

The brand started with a homemade salad dressing that Dave Newman and Hotchner prepared themselves and gave to friends as gifts. The successful reception of the salad dressing led Newman and Hotchner to commercialize it for sale. After that initial item, financed by Newman and Hotchner ($20,000 each as seed money), pasta sauce, frozen pizza, lemonade, fruit cocktail juices, popcorn, salsa, grape juice, and other products were produced. Newman's Own Lemonade was introduced in 2004 and Newman's Own premium wines in 2008. Each label features a picture of Newman, dressed in a different costume to represent the product. The company incorporated humor into its label packaging, as in the label for its first salad dressing in 1982, "Fine Foods Since February".